conflict of interest
by carefree34
Summary: AU. Claire is going to Hotchkiss, but the original characters are still there. Todd is and older brother. how will Claire deal when two rival cliques want her attentioin to get with her brother?UPDATED!
1. the beginning of the beginning?

_**Hey! I know I shouldn't be starting a new story now…but I've got writer's block on iwwam. (feel free to review it with suggestions : ) II'll probably think of something for it soonish but I got a request for that to be closh and this idea came to me.**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the clique. Or anything else. At all. Or the surprise that will come fairly soonish.**_

I walked up the steps of my new school, Hotchkiss academy with my older brother Todd. I sighed; being the new girl once again was never fun, but at least now I was used to it. Once we got inside, I had to wave bye to Todd because he had senior classes and I had sophomore ones. I walked down the hall to my first class, wondering why no one else was in the hallway.

"Let's get moving, you're late to class, young woman!" a teacher snapped at me.

"Huh? I thought class started at--"

"Five minutes ago! Now scoot!" the grumpy woman said, turning to go into her empty classroom.

_Maybe she's grumpy because no one wanted to take her class. Or maybe no one wanted to take her class because she's always—_

All of a sudden I was lying with my back on the floor, staring into the most velvety, gorgeous brown eyes I have ever seen ever. Like in real life, in pictures, in the movies, _ever._

"H-h-heyy. My name is Josh. And you are?" gorgeous eyed-boy asked, tilting his head to the right, making him look extra adorable.

"Umm, who am I? Right. I'm Claire. Claire Lyons," I said, pausing awkwardly before adding, "And you can probably get off of me right about now."

"Oh, right," he blushed, then pushed himself off me and stood up. "Sorry about knocking in to you, I--"

"It was just as much my fault as it was yours. Would you mind giving me a hand here?" I said, reaching out my hand for him to grab. He pulled me up, and I felt sparks where our hands had touched. I looked up at him into those brown eyes, and he looked right back. Finally I forced myself to look away.

"Yea, um, I really need to get to class. Um, do you know where, um, room 243 is?" I asked, looking away from those eyes.

"Right. Um, class. Wait, room 243? I have that class next, too. Marine Bio, right? I'll walk you there." He replied, looking pointedly away from me as well.

"Not like you have a choice," I replied, picking up my dropped stuff.

"You watch it, or I'll just leave you here," he smirked, revealing a set of pearly teeth.

"And I would probably never talk to you again," I retorted, standing up. He pouted in mock-hurt and I slapped him. Hard.

"Ok, well it's this way," he gestures to the right and began walking.

"Can we move a little faster? I've already been yelled at to get to class," I rolled my eyes.

"You can go as fast as you want. Butyou'llbegoinginthewrongwayhaha!" He turned around and sprinted down the hall in the opposite direction.

"Josh you little—GET BACK HERE!" I sprinted down the hall after him and caught up with him in a heartbeat.

"Whoa. You run fast for a girl," He said after catching his breath.

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" I asked, fluttering my eyelashes exaggeratedly and flipping my hair in a very girl-ish manner that made him chuckle.

"Hey, this is the room," He said, gesturing to a door painted to look like a coral reef. He stood there for a minute with his hand on the doorknob just looking at me. I shifted uncomfortably.

"Umm, aren't you gonna open that? We kinda need to get to class…" I reminded him.

"Right. Um, Class," he said for the second time in the last five minutes, still not moving. I rolled my eyes. Grabbing the handle over his hand (sparks again), I pushed open the door and we stumbled through.

The teacher glared at us. "You are ten minutes late. This is no way to start off the school year. Do either of you have a pass?"

"Uh, yea, I do," Josh smirked at me. I glared back while he handed the teacher his slip.

"Thank you. Nice to see you again, Mr. Hotz. And you?" He turned to me. _Whoa. His last name is Hotz? How fitting!_

"Hi, yea, I'm Claire Lyons. I'm new, and the forms I got said that school starts at 8:10, but then I found out when I got here that it started at 8:05, and then I got lost, and Josh--" I was rambling and I knew it. Lucky for me the teacher cut me off.

"Ok, Ms. Lyons. Please, both of you take a seat." He handed us each a syllabus and Josh quickly went to grab the seat saved for him by his buddies. I was looking around for a seat, and he smiled at me apologetically.

The teacher ech-hemed and asked "Ms. Block, please move your stuff so Ms. Lyons may sit."

A model-looking brunette glared at me as she moved her stuff from the desk that separated her from who I assumed was her boyfriend by the way they looked at each other. He was pretty cute, with shaggy-ish blonde hair and puppy-dog brown eyes. Josh was sitting two seats away from Puppy Boy, and he smiled over at me, like _sorry for abandoning me. Am I forgiven?_ I giggled and shook my head no, turning to face the board. I tried to pay attention, but I kept hearing a clicking noise. After a few minutes, I realized it was the noise of keys clicking on cell phones as the kids on either side of me sent rapid-fire texts. Puppy Boy and "Ms. Block" were moving their fingers at lightning speeds, and I took their distraction as a chance to look around me. In between Josh and Puppy Boy was a black-haired guy with two different colored eyes, giving him a husky look. On Brett's other side was an athletic looking blonde and a fiery red head. A quick peek at Brett's screen showed that they were all in the same conversation, and I quickly looked away, not wanting to intrude any further.

"Hey, Blondie," Block asked in a whisper, "Are you a grocery store employee?" I knit my eyebrows in confusion and shook no. "Then why are you checking me out?"

The three girls, plus Puppy and Husky snickered out loud; Josh laughed softly before trying to catch my eye and telepathically apologize, but I wouldn't give him the satisfaction. If these were his friends… I turned my head to the teacher and paid attention for the rest of class.

--

"Claire! Wait up!" I heard someone calling behind me, but I held my head high and kept walking. "Claire!" I rolled my eyes.

"Need saving?" A girl in bright pink leg warmers and navy blue shorts, paired with a lavender tank top asked.

"Totally. Thanks," I said as she fell into step beside me. Her perky dirty-blonde pigtails bounced as she walked. The whole look was totally ridiculous, but for her it really worked.

"Claire," Josh said, finally caught up to me and put his hand on my shoulder, breathing hard. "I'm so--", he started to apologize while I begged leg-warmer girl with my eyes to say something.

"Josh," She interrupted, earning a thank you grin from me, "Claire and I are busy right now. Can you puh-lease build a bridge, and get over it?" Giggling, we sped up and went to the end of the hallway. I couldn't resist taking a quick look back before turning a corner. I saw Josh still standing there looking after us, so I glared back. He turned and walked dejectedly back to his friends who were standing at the other end of the hallway waiting for him, texting again. Useless.

"Hey, thanks for saving me," I said, turning back to leg-warmer girl and smiling.

"Yea, whenever," she offered. "I'm Layne, by the way. Layne Abeley. Claire, right?"

"Yea," I giggled, "Claire Lyons. "Nice to meet you. Hey, do you happen to know where room 332 is?"

"No way, you have Mr. Milton for homeroom? Me too!" She held out her hand for a high five, and I slapped it. "Great. I'll introduce you to my totally cool friends, Meena and Heather. I'm sure they'll be delighted to meet you. You are new, right?"

"Yea. Fourth school in as many years," I offered, sorta bitterly.

"Ah. Moving family? That's tough. Well I'll do my best to make however long you're here fun." Then she muttered something under her breath.

"Huh?"

"Oh, nothing. Well, now that Josh and his friends have taken notice of you…" she trailed off as if contemplating her next words.

"Are they 'those girls'?" I asked as we started climbing the stairs. "Y'know, the ones who think they own the world? They have 'em at every school," I offered, not sure I knew what she was gonna say.

"Yea, well… this school has two. Every year is like the '08 presidential election: the most important decision of your life for this year: whose side are you on? Massie block or Alicia Rivera? _Or _a non-voter, like Meena, Heather, and I. BUT, if either of them decide they don't like you… you're kind of O-V-E-R done. You either run to the other clique, or, you hide out with us. And you don't look like an Alicia girl to me," she finished, giving me an once-over.

I was about to ask what that meant, but we had just reached the room, and I wanted to meet her friends.

"Meens! Heather! Hey, how were your summers! She rushed in and got hugs from these two girls while I stood to the side awkwardly. After a few more "omygodsogreattoseeyou!"'s and big hugs, she turned to me. "Hey, girls, this is Claire. This is her fourth school in as many years, so…"

"Oh, you're one of those. C'mere, lemme give you a hug!"The one who I assumed was Heather exclaimed.

"Yea, that's harsh," Meena agreed. "Well, hey, you can totally hang out with us whenever," She offered, tucking a piece of light brown hair behind her ear. I smiled my thanks.

"And guess who's been chasing her?" Lauren asked with a little excitement in her voice.

"ooOoo," they cooed, wiggling their eyebrows. I already felt at home.

"Josh. Hotz." Layne said slowly, letting the name sink in.

"Omigod!" they squealed, and I blushed.

"No, he's a total jerk. And his friends, too. He was totally just gearing up for some text-flirt session with some Massie girl, it's not like he actually liked me." I protested. I knew it was true, I just didn't like hearing the words come out of my mouth. Hey, the truth hurts, but it can set you free.

"Uh huh," Layne didn't look at all convinced. I raised my eyebrows. "Which is totally why he came chasing after you down the hallway and I had to step in," she reminded me. I rolled my eyes. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and we all turned to see who it was.

"Hi, Mr. Milton," none other than Massie Block said in a sickly sweet voice, "Our homeroom teacher isn't here, and some random teacher," she rolled her eyes as she said this, "told us to come hang out in your room. Is that ok?" Being absentminded as he was, he just waved her on in.

UN-fortunately, behind her trailed her little posse, which included Josh & his dog-eyed friends. Plus some jocks all decked out in football jerseys.

"Oh, no," I groaned. "Hide me!"

"He's totally trying to get your attention," Heather said, batting her green eyes. Layne and Meena nodded.

"Hey, Claire," He said softly, appearing beside me. Apparently he had given up on the trying to get my attention deal. I allowed myself to look up, and was once again hypnotized by his gorgeous eyes. _Stop it!_ I forced myself to blink and look away, horrified that I was blushing. "I'm really sorry about--"

"Joshie!" Massie snapped, and he looked over his shoulder at her stern expression.

"I'm sorry, I have to go. I'm so sorry," he looked really disappointed to leave. But really? If he wanted to stay, he totally could.

"Like hell you're sorry," I scoffed, and turned back to face the girls, giving them a 'told ya!' smirk. They looked part shocked and part like it was what they expected.

"No, really, I am," he begged, but I just waved him away. "Do you really think I have a choice??" He asked, hurt in his eyes. Another 'Joshieee!' rang out.

"Yea. I do. And you might like to pretend you were interested in me, but if you really choose to go over there, I know you're not," I said, still not turning around.

"Really, Claire. I think even from only knowing you a couple of hours that you're the coolest girl here. But Massie is in control and if I don't go, I'll--"

"Josh." I interrupted him. "I've been to wayy too many schools to count. I've met a million and one of these girls. And met a million and one guys like you, under their control. And trust me; guys who think I'm worth it will risk it."

"Well maybe I'm not that brave," he suggested, biting his lip in a way that was so adorable I wanted to shoot myself. But I knew guys like this; if wouldn't change now, he probably wouldn't ever.

"Somewhere inside you, you are. You just don't care enough to try. Too late, Josh. Good looks won't get you everything." I sighed as Massie's call was heard again, much more harsh this time. He jumped, looked back one more time longingly, and walked slowly over to the queen. I sighed; glad to finally get rid of him.

"But he's so cute!!" Meena exclaimed when he was over by his friends. I rolled my eyes.

"I've had way more than my fair share of starting out failed relationships what with my moving and all," I stuck to my main point.

The girls sighed, gazing at him, but I forced myself to do what I knew I had to: Flip my hair and walk away.

**Worthy of continuation?**

**xoxo**


	2. different encounters

Some boys can never take a hint, can they? Or even an outright "go away!!"Unluckily for me, Josh seemed to be everywhere I was, trying to win me over with his eyes again. And it was kind of working, because I did love those eyes! I resolved not to give in though. He was in my algebra 2 class second period, but luckily not in my third period: history. Unluckily, that class had Massie and her BFFs, plus husky boy; but also another exceedingly gorgeous Spanish girl and a couple of blondes who seemed to be her followers. From the way Massie and Spanish Girl glared at each other, I only had one guess as to who she might be.

"Yes, Ms. Rivera?" the teacher called on Spanish Girl. Yup, she was none other than the Alicia Rivera. Alicia asked some question about something totally random and fluffy, while I zoned out for the rest of the class. Math was one of my stronger subjects, so I knew I wouldn't really have to pay attention, at least not today.

--

Finally!! Lunch! I rejoiced in my head as I stuffed my Algebra book in my backpack and followed the sea of students to the cafeteria. And then the familiar feeling of Oh, God. Looking around the lunchroom, I had no idea where to sit. I was sad that Layne, Meena and Heather had Lunch 2.

Someone bumped into me from behind, and I stumbled forward.

"Sorry, you were in my way," Massie smirked slightly and continued walking. The red head and blonde followers sent me semi-apologetic half smiles, before scampering after their leader. I heard her mutter something about how I had a cheap outfit and rolled my eyes. So what if I'd rather buy perfectly nice clothes at Target so that I could give my money to charity?

Taking a better look around, I noticed that the lunch room was divided into three parts, but not by physical barriers. You could just tell that people on the left side were worshipping Massie, while people on the right seemed to be Alicia followers. I was not in any position to choose a side now, so I scanned the middle part, which seemed to consist of what Layne referred to as "non-voters".

All of a sudden, I felt an arm wrap around my shoulders, and I spun around. "Todd!" I exclaimed, giving him a big hug. I felt the tension I was harboring about a new school and everything that had made me really uptight this whole day drain away.

"Hey, sis," he said, lifting my five-four frame with ease. I giggled, looking up to the top of his six-three one. "How do you like it here so far?"

I sigh-shrugged, and explained the whole Josh-Massie-Alicia thing to him. He nodded understandingly through the whole story as we sat down at an empty table and unwrapped our chicken Caesar salad wraps, provided by our amazing chef, Lena. A few seconds after I had finished my story, a super hot senior boy stopped by our table.

"Lyons, my man," he held out his fist and my brother did the little fist punchy thing **(A/N is there a name for that?)** "So this is the sis?" He asked, grinning at me and taking a seat.

"Yea. You keep away, Ladson." Todd warned, and I blushed. "Claire, Jonah. Jonah, Claire." I nodded in acknowledgement, which was a mix of me trying to be cool and my mouth being full. Two gorgeous girls stopped by to chat also. They were pretty in a much more sophisticated way than either Massie or Alicia, and I noticed that most people not influenced by the rival cliques were juniors and seniors. _Duh! _I thought to myself, _because they're sophomores!!_

"Ladies," Jonah acknowledged the two girls. They giggle blushed, and sat in two of the three remaining seats at our table. "Lacey, Sunny, this is Todd Lyons and his sister, Claire." They waved. Lacey, the golden blonde, and Sunny, the strawberry blonde, flashed flirty grins at my brother, who chuckled. Then they turned to me. In a friendly way, they quizzed me about my old schools and the like. They talked to me like an equal, not a lowly sophomore, and I felt like I was really making friends. Layne, Meena, and Heather seemed really cool too, but really, you've got to have friends in your lunch period to survive high school.

Suddenly, a buzzing was heard. Jonah pulled out his phone from his pocket, and trying to look cool, flipped it open exaggeratedly. "Dude," he exclaimed after reading the screen. Lacey made an inquisitive noise and Jonah looked up. "The Red Sox won last night, and the Rays lost." He pointed to his phone, showing the update.

Todd and I glanced at each other and giggled. "What?" Jonah asked.

"Old ne--" I started to say old news, but Todd shot me a meaningful look. "Uh, old inside joke. Continue," I grinned and looked super attentive, and he went on.

"We're facing them Monday, how do you like our chances for first?" He asked. Lacey rolled her eyes, but Sunny looked interested.

"Let's see, they have one more game against the yanks, then Toronto. We have a day off before the Rangers. Both the series' will be away." Sunny listed off, and I smiled. Yup, she was a baseball girl like me. Not like I had a choice. Jonah looked impressed. And Todd grinned at her. I could tell he liked her and I smirked at him. He shot me a signature big brother 'shut up!' look.

"Uh huh, then they come here. Lester on Monday, Dice-K Tuesday, and Beckett Wednesday. I'll take our chances for at least a two out of three," Todd supplied.

"Nice." Jonah said, snapping his phone shut.

I sighed, glad the conversation was over. I love the Sox, don't get me wrong. It's just—

All of a sudden, I felt a hand on my shoulder. Turning, I saw Alicia standing behind me. I raised my eyebrows as she asked, in a sickly sweet voice, "Claire, right?"I nodded as she moved to sit down in the last empty seat next to Jonah, her blonde minions standing behind her.

"Hi, I'm Alicia," she said, draping herself over Jonah. "You've probably heard of me." She giggled, "Hey, Claire, y'know, you don't have to sit with your brother for lunch. You should totally come hang out with us sometimes." The robot-blondes nodded, Alicia gave an innocent looking grin.

"'At's ok, uh, Alicia was it?" Lacey purposely "forgot" her name and Alicia scowled. "We like Claire here with us." I smiled at her in thanks.

"Mmkay, but if you change your mind…" Alicia said her smile now tight and visibly fake. She threw one last glance at Jonah and walked away with her blondes.

"Ahh, God," Jonah moaned, "Why do I have to be so attractive?" Lacey, Sunny and I cracked up while Todd punched his shoulder. "Kidding, kidding," Jonah added, rubbing his now-sore shoulder.

"He's right, though," Sunny added, "She was only being nice to you, Claire, because she wants to get to Jonah."

"Aww, man," it was my turn to moan as Massie and her other five were making their way over in our direction.

"What, you seriously wanted her to be friendly to you?" Lacey asked incredulously.

I shook my head, locked eyes with Todd, and gestured to the incoming group of blech.

"Oh, is that them?" he asked, and I nodded.

"Who? Where? Oh, that? That's just Massie Block. God, what is with the popular freaks today? Why are little sophomores trying to be cool and getting with the seniors?" Sunny scoffed.

"Hey! I take offense to that!" I giggled, and Sunny did too.

"Sorry. I was talking about the brats." I nodded in understanding, just as they arrived at our table.

"Hey, Claire, I think we got off on the wrong foot this morning. Can we start over?" Massie asked, almost perfectly copying Alicia's sickly sweet tone; she was side glancing at Todd. Ugh. Josh stood behind her, trying to get my attention. _Right. Now that I'm "acceptable", you can't wait to get with me. Nice try, Hotz. _I thought. Massie cleared her throat, and I realized she was waiting for an answer.

"Um?" I asked, not sure what to say.

"I'm Massie Block," she held out her hand for me to shake. At this point Josh had come and put his hand on my shoulder like he owned me or something. I raised my eyes at Todd, and he turned to talk to Jonah while the sixty stared at me.

"Claire Lyons," I offered, my hand.

"Kuh-laire Lyons. Hmm. How would you like to come join our group?" Massie asked? Flashing a laser-whitened smile. Josh squeezed my shoulder.

"Move over, bud," Jonah said to Josh. "She's not interested in sophomore boys," Jonah gently shoved Josh out of the way. He placed his hand on my shoulder in a much more affectionate way, and I grinned thanks up at him. And across to Todd, too, who I knew had put him up to that. Josh didn't look mad, he just looked hurt. And I felt bad. I knew I was being harsh, but really? He chose Massie. It wasn't my fault.

"Gym, next, right?" Jonah asked, and I nodded, standing up. The bell was supposed to ring any minute now. He wrapped his arm around me and prepared to walk me to class.

"Ech-hem?" Massie cleared her throat, again wanting an answer. I made a split second decision and pulled Jonah right in between her and red-head. She stumbled back and stuttered, "Ex-cuh-yuse, me?!"

"Sorry," I smirked, remembering our earlier encounter. "You were in my way." And with that, Jonah led me off to show me where the gym was, leaving Massie and her posse in the dust.

**Don't worry closh fans! It will end well :) Don't know how I felt about this chapter. I may end up changing it later, but tell me what you think. **

**Xoxo!**


	3. what do you want?

Jonah had been walking me to all my classes, and I'd been eating lunch with him, Todd, Lacey, and Sunny. Todd and Sunny seemed to be getting really close, and I was glad because she seemed really cool. I had many classes with the sixty and Alicia's group, and they both spent most of class staring at the back of my "pretty little white blonde head", as Jonah put it. Luckily with him, my brother, the two senior girls, and Layne &Co. on my side, I wasn't having a terrible time, despite the snide remarks I would get in the hall, or the not so accidental trip while passing out papers in class. As Layne put it, was it possible that the two cliques were (gasp!!) coming together to bring me down? Her theory was that even if I hadn't turned them down rudely, I would still be getting it because I hung out with "Hott senior boys!!" and they didn't. Not that I don't think Jonah was hot. But it's kind of awkward to judge your own brother like that. Overall, though, I felt like I'd had a pretty good first week.

--

The doorbell rang at around ten on Saturday morning, and I groggily went downstairs to answer it, seeing as my parents were out and Todd probably would not get off the couch in the basement where he played videogames. I rubbed my eyes sleepily and looked down at my pajamas: a plain tight white cami that showed my midriff and a pair of girl boxers with the red sox logo all over them. My hair was hanging loosely down my back, which never happens except for when I'm sleeping. I decided that I was semi presentable and whoever was dumb enough to show up on my doorstep at ten on a Saturday would have to deal. I probably should have looked out before opening the door, but hey, hindsight is twenty-twenty. Because there, standing on my doorstep in full soccer gear, were Derrick, Cam, and Josh. Cam whistled perverted-ly as Josh sucked in his breath and Derrick averted his eyes upon seeing me. _Glad to know at least one of them is still loyal to their queen bee; _I thought sarcastically and rolled my eyes while shutting the door.

But Cam stuck out his foot to stop it from closing all the way, and I was forced to ask an exasperated "whaaaaat?"

"Claire," Josh started, and I made a split second decision to let them in. I opened the door wider, and they shuffled in awkwardly.

"Wait here," I ordered, the changed my mind. "To-odd," I sing-songed, leading the three boys down into the basement. He looked up from the couch and raised his eyebrows when he saw the boys. I rolled my eyes and sighed an "I know." Then I turned to the boys. "Wait here. I'm gonna change."

Cam pouted, eying me again, and Todd said, "Watch it," in a warning voice, making Cam shy away. I sent him my best thank you grin, and walked up to my room. I heard Derrick ask to play, Todd was playing MLB 2k7, and Todd grunted as a response. When I returned five minutes later, I assumed Derrick had taken Todd's grunt as a yes, because he was playing on the couch next to him. I had on a simple turquoise, purple, and gold skirt, as well as a grey wife beater and gold hoop earrings, nothing fancy, nothing designer, but still nice. At least I thought so. I was makeup free like always, with my hair in its signature ponytail. Cam didn't look half as excited as he had before, but Josh still looked in awe. I rolled my eyes and giggled at Todd's facial expression. We communicated telepathically for a minute: don't go anywhere without yelling down; scream if Cam tries anything funny; ok, cool; haha I doubt he will but sure; until Josh cleared his throat.

"Uh, oh. Yea, let's go upstairs," I suggested, and Josh followed me.

"Dude! We gotta go!" Cam said to Derrick before following me and josh up the stairs. In the living room I sat down in one of the La Z Boys while Cam and Josh sat on the couch. Derrick trudged up a few seconds later.

"Soo," I asked awkwardly once they were all seated. "Where's Massie?" I asked, trying to start a conversation so that hopefully they would end up telling me why they were here so they could leave.

"At the mall. Where else?" Cam scoffed. "She always has to take bazillion years to find the perfect designer outfits, and then an hour to get dressed in them. I have no idea how you managed to look that good with no designer in five minutes," he added, genuinely this time, instead of perverted. Derrick glared at him. "Sorry man!" Cam exclaimed on the defensive, "but you know it's true."

"Kind of…" Derrick conceded.

"Anywayy," I said trying to move them along.

"Right. Well. We came here because…" Josh started with his hand on the back of his neck, and looking at the ground.

"Dude. This century! We're missing warm-ups, and Kristen will probably tell Massie we weren't there."Derrick said, exasperated.

"Fine," Josh said. "Claire, come to our soccer game today. I'll tell you after."

"And why exactly would I want to do that? You guys have already wasted a good twenty minutes of my morning." I complained, before remembering that Jonah had said something about a soccer game. I immediately lit up. "Ok, I'll come." I said, grabbing my purse and stuffing in my phone, ipod, money, and keys. Following the boys out the door, I couldn't help but wonder about what would happen at this game.


	4. after the game

"Has anyone ever told you," Josh asked, while I was snapping on my helmet and climbing on my bike,"that your brother really looks like Theo Epstein?"

"Has anyone ever told you that you should really wear a helmet?" I asked, avoiding the question. I started pedaling faster than they were going.

"Whoa, girl, slow down," Cam yelled to me."Do you even know where you're going?"

"Do I wanna know?" I mumbled to myself. But to him I gestured 'lead the way'. _Why am I doing this again? _I thought bitterly, following behind Cam as we biked down the middle of the empty street. _Oh, right. Jonah. _I smiled as I thought of my brother's friend. He had really become like a second big brother/best guy friend to me over the past week, and he was super cute. His light brown hair and his blue-gray eyes... I sighed and shook my head. We were just supposed to be friends. I mean, c'mon. Like a senior guy as cool as Jonah would be interested-interested in me.

"Claire? Earth to Claire?" Josh was asking.

"Dude, um obviously she's ignoring you. Hey! Claire!" Derrick said, trying to get my attention. I looked up. I hadn't actually been purposely ignoring Josh, but hey, I was willing to go with the flow.

"Huh, Derrick?"I asked, emphasizing his name and grinning. He smirked at Josh.

"Seriously Claire?" Josh asked, exasperated.

"Nah, I just zoned out. But he set it up, so why not?" I giggled, but Josh scowled/sighed, almost as if in relief. Just then we pulled up to the field.

"So Claire, can I talk to you after the game?" Josh asked as we locked up our bikes at the rack.

"I dunno..." I sighed. "You're lucky you even got me to come."

"Now that you're here, though, you might as well, right?" He asked hopefully.

"ARRRGH!" I said fiddling with my bike lock. He raised his eyebrows in alarm. "Um, I guess. But I really don't understand why you couldn't talk to me at home. Or now, for that matter," I replied, crossing my arms.

"This is why," Derrick offered as Kristen approached us.

"Hey guys," she said, "you finally made it! Better hope coach doesn't eat you for missing half of warm--hey, Claire,"she said upon noticing me. "Why are you here?" She asked, Glaring at Derrick.

"It was me," Josh offered, and Kristen softened, and then raised her eyebrows. "Mmk, Josh. Hey Claire, how 'bout watching the game with me?" I was surprised at her friendliness, but accepted. I followed her to the center of the stands, clearly the place she always sat.

Suddenly one of Alicia's sidekicks came to sit with us. "Is she with you guys?" She asked worriedly, but not hostile-ly.

"Nah, Kori, I just invited her when she showed up with Josh and the boys. Gawd, he is ob-sessed!" The girls giggled.

"Um. Hey, I'm right here?" It came out as a question.

"Right. Claire, Kori; Kori, Claire." Kristen introduced.

"Mm hmm, but aren't you--" I began, but Kori cut me off.

"Yup, Iâ'm on Alicia's side. But Kris and I are on the girls' soccer team together, so sometimes we sit together at the boy's games. But you can't tell anyone, k? Massie and Alicia would have our heads."

"Ok... but the boys don't tell?" I asked somewhat surprised.

"Nah. They don't care." Kristen replied; then went on to talk about something soccer related with Kori. I sat back to watch the end of warm-ups, and as they lined up on the field. Jonah was at stopper, and I waved to him before the whistle. He looked surprised to see me, but he smiled and waved back. Josh waved back too. Kristen giggled.

"He is so obsessed with you," Kristen said when the game started, as if letting me in on a big secret. Kori giggle nodded.

"Umm, he's had about one conversation with me. Why is he obsessed? How can he know he likes me if he doesn't know me? And seriously? As if. It's not like he gave a rats ass until Massie came over at lunch that day and offered for me to join your group," I pointed out.

"Hm, you're right. I guess his timing was really off." Kristen replied. "But do you like him at all?"

"I guess, I mean I liked him the moment we collided in the hall. And I hate to be the jealous, clingy type, but he cared more about being with his friends and being cool. And then later, he would obey Massie before holding a conversation with me. I didn't think that was all that obsessed. I just wish he wouldn't assume I would come running back to him once it was ok to like me. Besides,"I stopped for breath, realizing I was ranting, "I maybe possibly like someone else."

"Cool," Kori offered, probably glad I was done. "Yea, Plovert!" She yelled as a boy I recognized to be another Alicia-ist scored a goal. He waved up at her and she waved back. And then, "shit. She's coming." Just like that, Kori was up out of her seat and perched in the center of the top row like she'd been there all along.

"Quick, move!" Kristen nudged me. I looked at her, confused. "Massie and Alicia are coming! Move!" she hissed, and I didn't need a second warning. I flew out of my seat and down to a lower section of the bleachers, where I noticed Sunny sitting.

"Hey, I didn't realize you were here!" I said, plopping down next to her.

"Right back at'cha," she replied with a grin. "Here to support Jonah?" She asked, eyes on the game.

"Yea," I replied. It wasn't 100 true, but he was the reason I even let the boys drag me here, so I figured it wasn't really lying.

"Hmmmm." Sunny let out and laid back in the bleacher seat as the whistle blew for the end of the half. The score was now 2-1, Hotchkiss. Massie and Dylan who were now reunited with Kristen went down to the field to talk to their three boys; Alicia, Kori, and her other closest follower, Olivia, went down to chat with Chris Plovert, Kemp Hurley, and Griffin Hastings, three of the boys atop the Alicia pyramid.

"Wanna say hi to Jonah?" Sunny asked, her eyebrows raised in a playful way.

"Huh?" I asked, referring to the eyebrows. She shook her head and laughed softly to herself. "No, really, what?" I asked.

"Oh, nothing. Let's go say hi." We walked down the few remaining bleacher steps to where he was with the other varsity seniors. Sunny fit right in with all of them, but I just hung back by Jonah, who put his arm around me. I smiled up at him gratefully. I could feel Josh's eyes burning a hole in my back, but I didn't turn around. First of all, it would be kind of embarrassing if he wasn't actually staring and it was just my imagination. Second, I didn't want to give him the satisfaction... he would think I was thinking of him. Which I guess, technically, I was. Third, I didn't want a run in with Massie who was undoubtedly by Derrick's side, who would be near Josh.

"So, Claire," Jonah began, but the coach blew the whistle to bring everyone back together. "Hey, um, I'll talk to you after the game, K?"

"Why does everyone want to talk to me after the game today??" I wondered aloud.

"Huh?" Jonah asked. "Who else wants to talk to you after the game?"

"Um, the three boys. Y'know, the Massie ones, not the Alicia ones. They stopped by my house this morning and dragged me here. Jonah looked really annoyed, and sort of hurt. "But the only reason I agreed to come was because I remembered you saying you had a game today."I hugged him and he brightened a bit.

"Gotta go, coach'll kill me. He tucked a piece of blonde hair behind my ear and ran over to the huddle of boys getting ready for the second half. Then I ran back to Sunny, who had returned to our seats in the bleachers.

"Soo?"She asked.

"Soo what?"

"Arggh!"she said, frustrated with something that I didn't understand. "What did he say to you?"

"Uh, I dunno, he ran out of time; he started to say something, but then he said he'd talk to me after the game. And then he got angry because Josh needs to talk to me after the game too, or something? Ugh, I'm so confused."

"No, hun," Sunny patted my shoulder, "You're just a little clueless, that's all. But don't worry. You'll find out after the game."

Boy, was I starting to hate those last three words.


	5. dissapointments, surprises, and plans

_**Big shout out to **__**Akiracatalina; thanks so much for all your reviews! I hope everyone is enjoying the story! **_

COI Chapter Five

"Go on, Claire," Sunny nudged me after the players filed out of the locker room, fresh from their showers. They had won the game, 2-1; the same score it had been at the half. Thanks to some great defense (yay Jonah!) they had managed to play keep away for the rest of the game.

"Hey, Claire," Jonah wrapped his arms around me and prepared to lead me away from the group. "What are you doing tonight?"

"Ech-hem," There was a tap on my shoulder. I turned around, and Josh was standing behind me.

"Oh hey, Josh," Jonah greeted him for me. "Nice game." He held out his fist and Josh pounded it.

"Yea. Great game. But I actually needed to talk to Claire for a second. Claire?"He turned to me. I looked up at Jonah's blue-gray eyes, and they gave his consent.

"Umm, ok."I followed him to sit down on the now empty bleachers.

"Claire," he said, looking into my eyes. "Claire, we need to talk."

"Uh, yea, we're talking. Can you speed this up? Jonah needs to tell me something too." I glanced over at him, leaning up against a tree on the opposite side of the field. He waved and I grinned back.

"Oh, um, do you like him?" I nodded in a 'duh!' way. Jonah was my closest guy-friend ever, Josh knew that. I think. "Oh, um, never mind then. I guess I'll see you around."

"Later, Josh," I rolled my eyes and jogged across the field to Jonah. "You wanted to talk about something?" I asked, smiling up at him.

"Yea." He ran his fingers through his light brown hair before putting his right arm around my waist and looking down at me. I couldn't help thinking that it was a semi boyfriend-ly move, but I didn't mind. "What do you think of me?" he asked casually, like it was a random question that just popped into his head. I smiled.

"I think you're like my second big brother slash the best older guy friend a girl could have. You're smart, nice, funny, cute," I blushed after saying the last one. I hadn't meant to tell him that; I wanted him to still treat me like an equal, not his friend's annoying little sister who had a crush on him. Not that I was crushing on him; he was just a friend. Oh, who am I kidding, I did like him. Damn. "Um, never mind," I mumbled, not able to face him.

"Claire," he said. "Claire, look at me." He turned so that we were facing and put his hands on my hips. Still embarrassed, I looked at the ground off to the side. "Claire," he said again, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. He was always doing that, and when I wasn't so embarrassed, I found it sweet. "I, um, well," he took a deep breath; "I really, really like you, Claire." His words shocked me. Daring to hope, I looked up to meet his gaze. I searched for any signs of insincerity, but found none. His blue eyes showed hope and adoration, and I couldn't really think straight. Slowly, sweetly, he cupped my face in his big, strong hands, and pulled me into a semi tentative but very passionate kiss.

--

**Josh POV**

I watched Claire run across the field to where Jonah was waiting for her, and my heart sank. I guess it was really over, she didn't like me anymore. I know I'd hurt her, but I'd hoped she still liked me and If I apologized and had a chance to talk to her alone, I thought maybe I could show her I wasn't such a bad guy.

I saw her looking at her feet, and him trying to get her attention. _What did he do to her? I could go over there right now and punch that bast--"_ He was kissing her, and anyone could tell she was kissing back. I sighed and trudged over to my friends.

"Bad hit, huh?" Kris asked, rubbing my back. I looked at her, telepathically saying we should talk in private. She nodded, almost imperceptibly.

"Whatever, Josh," Massie said, rolling her eyes. "You're hot, otherwise you wouldn't be in my inner circle. So we can find you a hotter, cooler girl in no time." I rolled my eyes—she was so missing the point. But being the good little Massie follower that I was, I nodded in agreement. "Ok, that's settled then. Oh gawd, what is that scum doing, coming over here?"

I turned and saw Alicia, Olivia, Kori, Kemp, Plovert, and Griffin approaching. Dylan rolled her eyes in support, but the rest of us just waited to see what they wanted.

"Hey, Massie," she greeted in her sickly sweet voice, and we all rolled our eyes.

"What do you want, Rivers?" Massie matched her tone. Alicia scowled, but continued.

"See that scum over there?" she gestured towards where Jonah and Claire were; the perfect couple, laughing and looking into each other's eyes. I felt a pang at my heart, but I couldn't help laughing at the fact that Alicia had used the same word to describe Claire that Massie had used to describe her. Massie nodded bored-ly. "Y'know she's going out with Jonah Ladson?" Massie pretended to already know; she hated to give in to the gossip queen. But we could see the flicker of shock in her eyes.

"Yea, I know. That girl thinks she's so cool because she hangs out with her brother's friends. I mean, c'mon… can't she make her own friends? And only a loser would turn down joining my clique. And, though I hate to admit it, yours. Who does she think she is? Besides," Massie said with a glint in her eye, "we all know that a senior boy going out with a sophomore girl only wants one thing."

"Point," Alicia lifted her finger in the air.

"Wow, I can't believe you guys actually agree on something!" Griffin mumbled, rolling his eyes. Alicia glared. Massie and Dylan rolled their eyes. Kori and Kristen giggled, Derrick, Plovert, and I chuckled. Kemp and Cam stared at Alicia's chest.

"So," Alicia continued, "I vote we band together to bring her down. That girl is to stuck up for her own good.

Massie was clearly making in-and-out lists in her head. Finally she replied, "Ok, but one condition. First, we have to not let others know, to keep up reps. So no talking to each other at school or wherever."

"Mmk, but if everything goes right, I get Jonah."

"Deal," they shook.

"Um, you guys, how exactly do you plan to bring her down?" Kristen asked tentatively.

"Yea, and what exactly do you plan to get out of it?" Kori added. Both Alphas wore almost identical scowls and looked at their followers.

"We're not letting some blonde loser take over our school. But, if we play it right, we can get in with the seniors before we cast her off like last month's cell phone," Massie explained like it was obvious. Alicia nodded agreement. I guess Alphas think alike.

"Uh, ok?" Kori answered, and Kristen nodded but I could tell that she didn't really understand either. As Massie and Alicia started brainstorming plans, I pulled Kristen off to the side.

"Did Claire say anything to you before Massie came?" I asked.

"Mm hm," Kristen nodded. "She said she liked you when you knocked into her in the hall or something? But then you cared more about Massie and how people thought of you than her? And she wishes you wouldn't assume that once you had Massie's blessing, you expected her to run back to you. And she asked how you know you like her if you've had about one real conversation with her. Yea, I think that's it."

"Thanks, Kris," I said, trying to take it all in. But looking back at where Claire and Jonah were walking to his car in the parking lot, holding hands, I felt the only choice I had left was for Massie to get me a girl and try to make Claire jealous. I knew it wasn't really the type of thing I'd do, and that I wasn't really a match for Jonah. But it was all I could do, in the situation I was in. It was worth a shot, right?

_**So, guys, what do you think? Closh or Clonah? And any ideas, suggestions for Massie/Alicia diabolical plans?**_

_**xox**_


	6. doubts and secrets

_**Clearly, I am no good at writing Closh… I have two stories where he is in love with Claire, and she likes some OC. And everyone wants this to be a clonah, so I will make it one. I suppose maybe later I will attempt another closh, but for now I will make this a clonah. Though it might turn out closh… I dunno, we'll have to see. Thanks to for all your reviews!**_

"So. You and Jonah are dating. I knew this would happen, I tried to get him to stay away… wow, my little sister and my best friend, that's definitely not awkward," Todd was pacing back and forth across the basement after I told him the news. I was sprawled on the couch, watching with amusement.

"Hey, Todd?" I asked, sitting up. He made a grunting noise. "Um, so pretty much the first thing Jonah did was kiss me. Not that I minded, I mean it was really nice," a smile played across my lips, "but it was kind of sudden-ish. Do you think that maybe he's only in it for the physical?" I asked, relieved I had finally asked the question that had been bugging me for a while. I'd gotten a mysterious text saying: _just remember… a senior boy wants only one thing from a sophomore girl._

"That, that…" Todd was fuming now.

"Ah, god, no I didn't mean it like that," I said quickly, trying to calm him down. "Um, I'm sure he meant well. Just… nevermind." I was nervous, I didn't want to ruin a friendship. But it was definitely sweet how he wanted to protect me.

"Ok, but if he tries anything funny, I'll," he punched his fist hard into his palm.

"Yea. Really, its fine, I swear," I assured him. I knew that I needed to trust Jonah, and I did. _Stupid mystery text_, I scowled as Todd went back to the video game. Jonah's motives had never even occurred to me until I read the text. _Someone's just jealous. _I tried assuring myself, _Jonah isn't like that. A guy who is like that wouldn't want, well, ME. _Satisfied with my reason, I resumed my story for Todd.

"Yea, so after he kissed me, we had a nice long talk about oh, I can't even remember what. But do you think mom and dad will let me out tonight?"

Often, talking to Todd while he's playing video games is like talking to a brick wall, but I do it anyway. So I was super surprised when he answered, "Oh, I thought we were going to the game tonight," and looked up at me, allowing his character to die.

"Oh, right, I'll call and cancel," I offered.

"Hey, how 'bout this. I'll go to the game with Jonah and see if I can find out if he actually likes you or is just playing you." He suggested.

"Cool," I nodded. I trusted Jonah, I really did, but it would be good to hear it for sure. I never liked missing a red sox game, especially when we were battling for first, but it wasn't fair to Jonah to leave him with nothing to do tonight. Todd called to give him the scoop and gave me thumbs up.

"Done and done," I smiled and grabbed the other controller and Todd grabbed his as we started a new game of Halo.

--

I plopped into my plushy swivel chair and booted up my HP laptop. I pulled up the game on and logged on to facebook. Since it was September, it had already started getting dusky out, even though it was just 7:05. I had a couple wall posts from my friends in Pennsylvania and one from a girl from camp. I was just finished replying when I got an IM from someone with the screen name soccer1015198.

**Soccer1015198: **rnt u sposed to be on a date?

**ClaireBear:** creeper?

**Soccer1015198: **No, really what happened.

**ClaireBear: **No, really who are you.

**Soccer1015198: **U kno who I am. But y rnt u out w/ Jonah?

**ClaireBear:** cuz, he's at the red sox game w/ my bro

**ClaireBear: **don't even kno y I just told you that

**Soccer1015198: **b/c im irresistable

**ClaireBear: **doubt. OMG, ur the mystery txter!

**Soccer1015198:** slow?

**ClaireBear: **ok, this is SO not funny nd ur creeping me out.

**Soccer1015198: **Claire, wait!

**ClaireBear has signed off at 7:15pm**

I saw the stalker's last comment just before I signed off and felt tempted to go back on because I had a hunch of who it was. But that seemed kind of awkward. I grabbed my cell and dialed Lacey.

"Hey, Lace!" I greeted when she picked up.

"What do you want?" She asked coldly, "I'm getting ready for a party, make it snappy!"

"Uh, oh, sorry. It's not that important. Have fun!" I answered and dialed Sunny.

"Heyy," She answered, "How'd things go with Jonah?"

"Great," I replied. "Um hey, is Lacey mad at me?" I asked, worried.

"Nah, she's probably PMSing. Oh, wait, what was it about?"

"No idea, she just answered rudely."

"Oh, well y'know, she's liked Jonah forever. She claimed she stopped liking him freshman year, but I never believed her. She's probably just jealous. But she'll get over it. Hey, I'm getting ready for a party, so why did you call?"

"I was just wondering if you knew what Josh and his friends were saying after the game? I'm getting stalker messages about how he "Only wants one thing from me and blah blah blah …"

"Yea, sorry, no idea. But I'll see you at the party. Jonah's taking you, right?"

"No, actually, he's at the red sox game with my brother."

"Lucky," Sunny said, sighing, and I knew that she was referring to the being with my brother part as much as the being at the game part. "Well, good luck then. See ya Monday."

"Kay, thanks Sunny," I replied before hanging up.

I checked the score of the game; the sox were winning 2-1. So I popped my favorite movie, What a Girl Wants into my computer and settled down to watch.

--

**Josh POV**

I watched as she signed off, and sighed. Why was I doing this? If she found out it was me, she would definitely hate me forever. But right now the only girls who cared for me were those who had control over me, and they were telling me to get the scoop on Claire. I wondered why Jonah was out with Todd instead, and I wondered if the text I sent her was tugging at her conscience. And not like I thought Jonah was a bad guy, he was really cool and by girls standards, a super hottie. Which is why I couldn't help thinking that there probably was some reason he wanted Claire. Sure she was really pretty and all, but when you're a senior who could have any girl in school, why would you pick a transfer sophomore? Maybe I was just jealous. Completely possible. But I also felt a sense of protection towards her.

A couple of hours later, I decided to video chat with her. I didn't think she would, so I was surprised to see her face pop up on my screen.

"What?" she asked, not as hostilely as normal.

"Hey, umm, oh uh, I don't really know why I video chatted you. Um I guess I just wanted to talk? I didn't think you'd answer."

She half giggled and answered, "Talk about what?"

"I dunno. Hey, Claire, can we try to be friends? I know it might be kind of awkward, but I would like to put this behind us and start over. Is that ok with you?" I asked trying not to sound too eager. It would be so great if we became friends because it would be easier to try and make her jealous. Or, I just might find that she was better as a friend.

"Sure, I guess we could tr--" she started before Todds voice interrupted from somewhere off screen.

"You're gonna hate me, Claire," he said, and she turned.

"Why?" all I could see was her hair, but I just wanted to reach out and stroke it.

"I told him."

"You told him what... Oh my GOD, Todd, you TOLD him?" she exclaimed, one part surprised and two parts angry. "Now all he's ever gonna want is--"

"I had to!" Todd answered defensively. "He asked how I had such good seats, and I said I had connections. It just slipped! And then I had to explain how our uncle was--" He paused for a second. "Hey Claire, turn off your video chat," He said, and she whipped her head around.

"Oh, hey Josh, sorry I kinda forgot you were there. Now isn't exactly the best time, I'll talk to you later."

Before I could reply, the screen went blank. I sighed, shutting down my computer and wondered what Claire's secret could be.

Then it hit me: _good seats. Connections. Uncle. "has anyone ever told you your brother looks like Theo Epstein"._ _"all he'll want is". Red sox boxers. Oh my God, she's related to Theo Epstein. _

All of a sudden, I was thinking like a Massie. Or an Alicia, take your pick. My point was, I suddenly had an idea of how to make Claire miserable.


	7. clarification hopefully? maybe not

**Ok I know the last one was confusing and probably a little weird but I love baseball, so hey, I'm weird and hopefully you get it after this quick chapter.**

I walked into school on Monday nervous about seeing Jonah. Todd had told him the secret we had sworn not to tell each other's "significant others": our uncle was Theo Epstein. Yes, the general manager of the Boston Red Sox. Which meant we got the coolest seats whenever we wanted. We promised not to tell because we did at our first school, and that definitely didn't go over well. Everyone wanted to be our friend, but for all the wrong reasons. So we made a pact to keep it to ourselves. And I just knew that if Jonah mentioned it once, I would break up with him. Because I did not want to spend the rest of our relationship hearing him ask if I had tickets to the game tonight. Clearly he was a big fan, he got the updates on his phone and everything. So yea. I sighed as I approached his locker, also not sure about the whole being his girlfriend thing. Was I supposed to kiss him?

"Claire!" he said once I arrived at our pre designated meeting spot. He gave me a hug, but backed off afterwards, kind of like he was unsure what to do. Then he walked me to class holding my hand, and I thanked him in my head for not mentioning anything.

Maybe I spoke/thought to soon. Once we arrived at my first class, he turned to me and said, "I just want you to know that Todd did talk to me at the baseball game. And I want to know that it doesn't change how I feel about you or our relationship or anything." He leaned in to kiss me, and my lips met his. It was sweet, and I totally changed my mind. Not breaking up with him. I turned and went into class smiling. I dropped a casual "hey" to Josh, trying to be friendly , before sitting down in my assigned seat which was unfortunately between Massie and Derrick. She came in semi late, as always, and gave me a look I couldn't quite decipher. It was a mix of hatred, proudness, and mischief. I suddenly stiffened, because I was certain that look meant she had some sort of plan.

**So yea. When I started this story, I planned it to be a lot different and have it be known much earlier that she was his niece (PS I don't own Theo Epstein or any of the red sox or whatever) and that's why she's so redsox-y in the beginning . But it took a different direction than I thought it would but I still wanted to add part of the original idea. Let me know if I should delete the last two chapters and continue the story differently and make a totally different story with my original idea. I am totally open to any suggestions about it too. **


	8. what they don't know

"Kristen?" Meena suggested after I told them about my text/im stalker. "She likes soccer…"

"Yea, but I'd hate to think it was her, I mean, she was so nice to me at the game." I answered.

"mmm, could be Cam," Layne suggested, and I nodded.

"Makes a little more sense, I mean he keeps checking me out, and he plays soccer and all that jazz…" I speculated.

"Hmmm, my guess is Derrick. He'll do anything Massie tells him to, and we all know the 'alphas'" Heather used air quotes, "are super jealous of your status with the seniors, so yea. If you saw them hanging around the field after the game, she was probably spying on you or something, deduced that he asked you out, and then made her puppets do the info digging." She concluded, and I nodded. That made sense too.

"Could be," Layne replied, "I definitely think that it's either an Alicia or Massie follower. I mean, no one else would really care."

"Unless…" I recalled my conversation with Sunny Saturday night, "Lacey had something to do with it. Sunny said she was jealous," and they contemplated the idea.

"Don't think so, Lacey can get whoever she wants," Heather replied, and I sigh-nodded.

Then the bell rang to go to second period. My math teacher was still going over review from Algebra 1 (did he think we were stupid?) and so I zoned out until I felt something hit me on the back of my head. I turned around and there was a ball of paper under my desk. Being careful not to attract the teacher's attention, I uncrumpled the paper to see: _Claire Lyons, tsk tsk. Shouldn't you be taking notes? _Scribbled on the paper. I looked up to see who wrote it and Josh flashed me a grin.

_Right back at ya_, I scrawled back and underhand tossed the paper which he caught.

About ten minutes later (god, what takes ten minutes to write?!) the paper landed on my desk again, just as the bell rang. I was so eager to get out of there, so I stuffed my books in my bag and walked to history. It wasn't until enduring a whole period of MassiexAlicia stare downs that I realized I had left Josh's note on the desk.

--

I opened the door of the cafeteria and looked over at my usual table, nervous again about the whole being-Jonah's-girlfriend thing. I usually wasn't nervous/insecure around guys, but then again, I didn't usually date seniors. A glance at the table showed Todd and Sunny whispering about something together, and Lacey giggling at something Jonah said. But I knew to trust him; Sunny assured me that if anyone needed to be jealous of anyone, Lacey should be jealous of me. I smiled as I walked over and Jonah's eyes met mine. Lacey scowled as he turned his attention to me, but smiled as I got closer. _As if, did she think I wouldn't notice?_ I thought, but I smiled back. Maybe Heather was wrong. Maybe there is only one boy Lacey can't get. Once I arrived, I realized that there were no more chairs. Jonah simply patted his lap though, and I went cautiously.

"Oh, relax, Claire," he said jokingly, "I won't bite." While I sat and got comfy, Sunny was giggling and Lacey and Todd were exchanging looks. Jonah wrapped his arms around me. Just then a guy walked up to our table and put his arm around Lacey.

"Hey, Alex," she cooed, and he leaned down so she could kiss him. "Guys, Alex, my new boyfriend. Alex, you know Sunny and Jonah; this is Todd and his younger sister Claire."

"Oh, hey, guys. Yea, I met you at that party this weekend, right?" he asked Sunny, "Jonah, my man, cradle robbing, are we?" he laughed out loud and I squirmed. I didn't like the way he said that. "Nice to meet you, Todd, right?"

"Yeah, Todd Lyons. Nice to meet you too," He offered his hand and Alex looked at it oddly before shaking it quickly and moving on.

"So, Lace," he started, and then stopped. "Oh, hold on, did you just say your last name was Lyons?" Todd nodded. "And you're his sister?" he turned to me. I nodded slowly, with y eyebrows raised. What did this guy want? "Oh, ok, so you must be Claire Lyons. Are you the one who is Theo Epstein's niece? I wanted tickets to take Lacey to--" by then I wasn't listening anymore. Todd was shooting Jonah death glares, but I just looked at him with complete disappointment. Sunny was shocked, and I couldn't tell what Lacey looked like. She was shocked, sure, but something else thrown in the mix that I couldn't identify.

"Seriously, dude?"Todd exploded. "You promised—"

Jonah ignored my brother. He seemed genuinely surprised at what was going on. "Claire," he said softly, brushing the hair out of my face, "I didn't tell anyone. Please, please believe me!" He looked so sincere that I almost broke down. But I couldn't.

"Jonah, I really want to believe you. Really, I do. But there is no one else here that knows. Who else could it have been? Y'know, I really liked you. And I wish it didn't have to be like this. But I'm going to go now. I think it's best if we are over." I said it full of regret. But really, who else could it have possibly been? I stood, and Todd stood with me.

"If I find out who it was?" Jonah asked, and I nodded. He looked dejected but determined, and Alex just was totally tactless.

"Yea, so, can I have them?" He asked, and Lacey slapped him. Good to know that she was still somewhat on my side.

--

**Josh POV:**

I watched as Claire entered the lunch room, wondering if she read my note. I felt guilty about sorta-kinda eavesdropping on her and couldn't bring myself to tell Massie the one secret that could eventually destroy Claire. I just wasn't that cruel. I hoped. Instead, I told her I had heard & guessed, hoping that she could learn to trust me. Claire didn't wave or anything, she was set on getting to her table. But at least she didn't scowl or anything, so I assumed we were good.

--

**Narration:**

_If one had watched after Claire left her math class, they would see seniors walking in for the calculus class the teacher taught next period. They would see a certain boy sit down and pick up a scrap of paper that was on his desk. They would watch as he prepared to shoot the paper in to the recycling bin across the room. They would see his friend reach out and stop him, inquiring what was written on the paper. They would see him peer closer, reading the words to himself. He would hear his friends pestering him about what it said; and him whispering something in their ears as they all smiled. They nodded and fist bumped each other; realizing how they could use this secret to their advantage. _


	9. searching? or not?

**K, I haven't updated in forever, but instead of giving you a story of why it's been a while, I'll let you get to the story though. Just warning you: it's short and not exceedingly exciting. I need you guys to review and give me ideas!!**

"Hey, Claire, lookin' fiiiine," Some pervy senior said, as he passed me in the hall, as if he was trying to get on my good side or something. I looked down and decided that tomorrow I was wearing a turtleneck and the baggiest jeans I could find. Not like I thought I looked "fine", but at least if I looked horrid, I would _know_ they were lying.

"Oh, don't mind them," Heather said as she walked with me after homeroom. "At least it seems to be a select group of senior boys. They haven't told anyone yet," she pointed out.

"Doesn't make it less annoying," I grumbled, and she put a sympathetic hand on my shoulder. We parted ways as I turned to walk into algebra. Josh kept looking at me like he wanted to ask me something, but all I noticed was that he was wearing a Yankees hat. "I didn't know you liked the Yankees!" I told him, looking somewhat confused.

"All my life," he shrugged, "but I didn't wear it before because you – never mind."

I shrugged and went back to taking notes now that we were _actually_ learning something.

--

"Damn, shawty," some guy said while I was packing up my stuff from algebra. He looked like as senior, possibly here for the calculus class next period, but really?

"Dude. I'm taller than you." I rolled me eyes and turned to walk away from him.

"Leave any notes behind today?" He asked, and I looked at him, eyebrows knit in confusion. He just smirked and I rolled my eyes, walking out to history.

--

At lunch, all these senior boys kept coming up to our table, and Sunny and Todd were working on getting them to leave for me. I sighed, looking around the lunchroom. Jonah looked angry, as if he was mad at the boys for coming within, like, a five foot radius of me. Josh looked super confused, and Massie and Alicia were fuming. Despite everything, the looks on their faces made me giggle.

"I can't believe this," Todd was muttering under his breath.

"Not like I'm not on your side or anything, guys, but look at Jonah. He looks seriously upset, angry, regretful… all that good stuff. And I know that he really, really liked you, Claire. Do you really think he would have done this?" Sunny, the voice of reason, asked.

"Who else?" Todd asked. "I knew something bad would happen when you started going out. First of all, extremely awkward for me. But that's not the point. He's a senior, Claire, and so not--"

Sunny cut him off with a kiss. I squirmed and awwwwed at the same time, if that was possible.

"Don't listen to him," she said, pulling away and trying to shake off Todd who was trying to kiss her again. "Jonah's a total sweetie, and trust me, I'd know if he'd done something like that to you." I sighed and glanced over to where he had been sitting with Lacey and Alex, but he was gone. "Over there," she gestured to where he had moved a table with a bunch of his soccer buddies. She gave me a knowing grin. "C'mon Claire. Okay, I have an idea. If you don't want to take him back, let's think of other people who could possibly have known."

"No one!" Todd said, exasperated. "I didn't tell, she didn't tell," He turned to me, "You didn't tell anyone else, right?" I shook my head. "And you didn't even know. So how could it have been anyone else but Jonah?"

"Oh, Todd, think about it. He was your first friend here. What reason would he possibly have for doing this? Besides, if he wanted to be a jerk, he would have used you to get Red Sox tickets, but probably would have been selfish enough not to tell anyone… why would he _want _you to hate him?" Todd started mumbling under his breath. "What was that? Huh? Huh? Yeah, I thought so." Sunny smirked and he groaned.

"You're right, Sunny. But Todd is kind of right also. I mean I don't think it's his fault. But he said he was gonna try and find out who it was. And it doesn't look like he's trying that hard. I mean, look at him, he's just--"

"Sulking, looking miserable, and trying to look like he's actually interested in what his friends are saying?"

"Uhm, and not looking. I mean, I would take him back in a heartbeat if I knew who did it."

"Whatever, I'm sure he'll get on that." Sunny answered before Todd pulled her into another kiss.

"Ohokay, um, I'll… see you guys later?" I got up and left, not wanting to sit there watching them make out for the remaining five minutes of lunch.

--

"Hey, Claire, so um, do you have an answer to the note I sent you the other day?" Josh stopped me outside of school on the way to the bike racks.

"What, 'you should be taking notes'?" I scoffed, and he shook his head.

"No I meant--"

"Claire! Let's get moving!" Todd called across the lawn. I finished unlocking my bike and hopping on.

"Gotta go, I'll talk to you later, kay?" he reached out to stop me but I rode away. He sighed audibly, but Todd needed me, so I went.

--

Jonah POV

I approached those three girls Claire knew from homeroom after school to see if they had any idea what was going on. I could tell that they started to squeal as I got closer, but I ignored it.

"Hey, um…" I tried hard to think of one of their names.

"Layne" "Meena" "Heather" they offered their names at the exact same times, then giggled.

"Right. Well, um, I was wondering if you," I started, and Meena squealed again.

"Get a grip!" I heard Heather whisper. "He's obviously here about Claire!"

"Uh, sorry about them," Layne gestured to the bickering girls. "You were saying?"

"Yeah. I was wondering if, well, Claire told you about, you know, her secret before,"

"Hold on, are you accusing us of--" Layne's eyes turned from bright to stormy.

"No, uh, I was just wondering. I mean like, if it had been possible that someone had overheard her telling you. Or whatever. Or, if you know anything else?" I asked hastily, not wanting to get Layne angry. She softened a bit.

"Nope," Heather re-joined the conversation. "But I did notice that is a select group of senior boys. And they haven't told anyone else, so we might be ok for a while." I nodded appreciatively at her observation, and then left. They hadn't been able to help too much, but at least they made an effort. And I just might be able to go off the whole small-group-of-senior-boys thing. At least I hoped so!

**Told ya. See, unless you review, you'll get boring nothing chapters like this! Anyway, please someone give me a suggestion. **

**xoxo**


	10. feeling stupid

**Jonah POV**

**Lunchtime **

I sighed; making a mental note to remember to sit with my soccer friends at lunch tomorrow, because sitting here watching Lacey and Alex make out all lunch was not my idea of appetizing. I looked over at Claire who seemed aggravated because she and Sunny were trying to have a conversation but Todd kept interrupting by kissing Sunny. I sighed, wishing I could be there with them instead of witnessing this suck-fest. You can take that whatever way you want. I thought about what Layne, Meena, and Heather had told me. It seemed to be a select group of senior boys and I just had to figure out who… OH MY GOD!! How in the world was I so stupid?!?!

"Yo, Alex," I said, forcing him to pull away from Lacey, who scowled. "You remember that girl, Claire Lyons?" I asked, and he perked up.

"You mean the Red Sox chick?" he asked nodding in her direction. I looked over, but she was talking to Josh Hotz. He said something that made her scowl, but then reply and giggle. Even though Josh was a totally cool guy and great at soccer, all I felt was resentment as she got up and followed him out of the cafeteria leaving Sunny and Todd to themselves. "Yea, I know her, why?"

"Remember that time you had come to lunch and asked her for tickets and then we broke up?" Alex nodded, getting less interested by the second while Lacey just rolled her eyes. "Well, how was it that you knew that her uncle owned the Red Sox?" I asked. How was it that I hadn't thought of this before? The answer had been sitting right in front of me that past few agonizing lunches, and I had been too busy sulking to think straight.

"Uhh, calculus, I think? That was so long ago, what does it matter?" Alex asked, and I fought to not groan aloud.

"It's just important, ok? Try to think. Why would calculus have anything to do with it?"

"Uhh, she left a note on my desk between her and some kid and they said something like, I know that you are related to Theo Epstein, but don't worry, I won't tell anyone. Or something like that. And then something about how they found out, I dunno. I don't even know if it was a boy or a girl, though. Does that help?" He asked, and I could tell he probably wouldn't help me anymore if I said no, so I nodded and thanked him before getting up to find Claire and letting him get back to Lacey.

--

**Claire POV**

I followed Josh out of the cafeteria, wondering what he needed to talk to me about so desperately. I felt bad for ignoring his attempts to talk to me the past few days, so I gave in and let him lead me out of the cafeteria. I mean, anything to get away from Todd and Sunny, right? They were really great and I was glad they stuck by me because they could easily have stayed with their senior friends, but watching them make out all lunch wasn't quite my idea of fun.

"So, what did you need to talk about?" I asked once we were in the hallway. A few teachers were walking around so he motioned for me to follow him outside outside before speaking.

"Ok, Claire, are you mad at me or something?" He demanded, looking curious and hurt.

"No, why?" I asked, confused.

"I thought we decided to be friends. But you've been ignoring me! Was it that note?" He asked, worry taking over his face.

"I'm sorry," I said, biting my lip and looking down. I had run away from him when other people needed me, like Todd or Sunny, but I could have talked to him if I'd really wanted to. "I guess I kind of have been ignoring you without meaning to… wait, what note?" I asked. All he'd done was sort of flirt by telling me I should take notes. Maybe he thought I was mad that he was flirting? I opened my mouth to ask when he answered.

"The one where I wrote that I know about your uncle!" He exclaimed, exasperated. "If you're mad, you can just say so, you don't need to pretend you don't know what I'm talking about!"

His words hit me with full force, and I just stood there, stunned. He looked at me waiting for my response, but I could only stutter. "Wait… how do you know?" I asked, bewildered.

"Wait… you really _didn't _get my note? But I handed it right to you!" He asked, now looking panicked.

"Oh, wait… you wrote something else? I thought you just gave me the paper back, I didn't think you wrote anything else. Ohmygawd…" I said, realizing what must've happened. "Ohmygawd, ohmygawd, no…" Josh reached out to comfort me, but I shrugged him off. "How could you do this?" I asked. "It's never safe to write something like that on a note! I left it behind!" His face contorted into anger when he realized that I was blaming him, and I realized that wasn't fair of me. "No, no, it's my fault. You made sure I got the note and everything, and I just left it on the table! How could I have been so stupid? Now we might have to move again and it's all my fault! I can't believe…" I leaned against the tree behind me and fell to the ground, my head in my hands. Todd would never forgive me for being so stupid. There was no way he would want to leave now, not with Sunny here and some friends he had from classes. I just had to think of another way to get those boys to not tell. I kept my eyes covered and shook my head. Josh reached down, and then…

--

**Jonah** **POV**

I walked around the first floor hallways looking for Claire and Jonah, not being able to wait before telling her what I had found out. I couldn't find them anywhere, so I took a quick peek outside and saw Josh kissing Claire. She wasn't kissing back, but she wasn't pulling away either. My blood boiled as I saw him pull away, give her hand a squeeze, and walk in the other door back to the cafeteria. She just stood there looking stunned, and I couldn't tell if it was in a good or bad way. I just wanted to wrap my hands around Josh's neck, but that wasn't really fair. We weren't dating anymore; he had every right to kiss her. That's what I kept telling myself the rest of the day as I kept hitting myself in the head for not getting to her first.


	11. forming alliances sort of

_**Ok, I'm back! So sorry about being totally missing in armani, the short story is that I didn't have internet for about the last four months. I've been away. Anyway, thanks so much to PATRIOTSbaby4lifefor her review. **_

Josh POV

I felt kind of bad about kissing her like that, but I just couldn't resist. I wanted to be the one to make her feel better. And she was just so, so… vulnerable. I shouldn't have taken advantage of her shock and pain. These were the thoughts that ran through my head during soccer practice, as I kept watching Jonah let guys dribble past him. I had screwed up their relationship, hadn't I? and as much as that was what I had been wanting—for them to break up and for her to run to me—it wasn't really fair for me to be the reason they broke up. Jonah looked so upset and just dejected. _Stop it. You're too nice. This is what you wanted, remember? Just go with it! _The devil on my left shoulder urged. _But really, it is your fault he's so unhappy. He at least deserves to know what is going on,_ the angel on my right countered. I sighed, and resolved that after practice I would go and talk to him.

XX

Jonah POV

I walked faster towards the parking lot when I noticed that Josh was trying to catch up with me. It's not like he knew I had seen the kiss. But really, I was not in the mood to talk to him right now. Unfortunately, I hadn't put my car keys in their normal pocket, so he managed to catch me while I was searching through my bag.

"Hey, Jonah," he panted, out of breath from running after me.

"Hey man, what's up?" I asked, making it clear that I wanted to keep this chat short.

"Sorry, I know you probably need to get home, I just need to talk to you for a second" he said apologetically, "it's about Claire."

Well, I'd guessed that, I mean, the only other thing he would have had to talk to me about was soccer, but he could have asked one of the other captains instead of chasing me across the field. "Yeah?" I asked, motioning for him to continue as I pulled my keys out of my duffle.

"You see, it is partially my fault that people found out about her uncle," he started, and I spun around, sending him a look that was one part angry and two parts shocked. He sent back a 'not intentionally!!!' look. "And," he continued somewhat hesitantly, "I know we both like her. And I know that in a situation like this it's not standard for the two guys trying to get the girl to team up, by I think we need to. We need to worry about getting those seniors off her back and keeping her secret safe before one of us makes a move." He finished in a rush, and by the end I was slowly nodding.

"Hmmm," I said slowly, pretending to think, "but what do you plan on doing about the fact that I am not in any way responsible for Alex and them finding out her secret?"

"That's just it!" he exclaimed, "You know these guys. You'd be such a big help. And I know you care about her, so…" he trailed off, and I had to agree with what he had said.

"Fine," I sighed, "but I really do have to go. I'll think of what I can do. And if you have any ideas, let me know. You're right, we have to put our differences aside and just do whatever we can to help her at this point." He nodded gratefully and jumped into Harris Fisher's car with his friend Cam. I thought and thought as I drove home about what we could do that would not only keep Claire's secret, but land me the girl.

XX

Josh POV

I was so relieved that Jonah agreed to help. _He must really care for her,_ I couldn't help thinking, which made me feel worse about the situation. I was quiet the whole ride home, even with Cam and Derrick constantly punching my shoulders to ask why I wasn't talking. Harris just rapped along to the radio at the top of his lungs making it even harder for me to think. But I tried anyway. When I was finally dropped off at my house, I kicked off my cleats in the entryway and jogged up the stairs while yelling out an "I'm home!" I dropped my duffle bag at the entrance to my room and plopped down onto the soccer ball bean bag chair my mom got me when I was eight. Picking up my phone, I thought of dialing Claire, but decided not to get myself in any deeper in the situation until we worked the secret crisis out.

"GRRR," I growled in frustration, unsure what I should do. I wanted Claire. But I also wanted Claire to be happy. I wanted to rewind a few days and start over. Really, if I hadn't been such a wimp and followed Massie, Claire and I would probably be together right now. And Jonah never would have entered the picture, so I would have no reason to feel guilty, and this whole situation would not exist.

I pulled my laptop out of my bag and stared at the screen, trying to think of a good way to solve the problem so that Jonah, Claire, and I would ALL be happy.

_**So, I realize this is a pretty sucky chapter. I am not a guy, therefore I am not able to make my guy characters sound like guys. And its not top quality because I also just wanted to crank out a chapter to let you guys know I'm back. more to come, especially if you review with suggestions, because I really don't know how I'm gonna get out of the Jonah-Josh hole I dug. How can I make them both happy if only one can get the girl? Please help if you have ideas!**_


	12. everyone's brainstorming

_**Warning: Definitely not one of my better chapters!! And nothing belongs to me. I'm just trying to get through this story and work on IWWAM because I have a new idea for a story I want to start. **_

Josh POV

After thinking for a while, I decided to see if Kristen was on AIM, because often her way higher IQ always helped me figure things out. About five minutes after I logged on I heard the sound of a door opening and her name popped up on my buddy list.

**Soccer1015198: **hey kris, hows it going

**Sexysportsbabe: **arghhhhh, I'm getting _so_ fed up with Massie!

**Soccer1012198: **yea?

**Sexysportsbabe: **ok. I trust you a) because you're a guy and therefore you don't care about the drama and b) because I trust you. But you CAN'T tell Massie

**Soccer1012198: **done.

**Soccer1012198: **pretend I didn't just say that.

**Sexysportsbabe: **L. O. L.

**Soccer1012198: **stfu

**Soccer1012198: **anyway, shoot

**Sexysportsbabe:** ok. She is totally just… just… a bitch! I don't know how to explain, I just… I'm thinking of leaving

**Soccer1012198: **hey. Kris, no sweat. I might join you on that one. _If _you help me out, too. I need help on a plan to get Claire out of the jam I got her in

**Sexysportsbabe:** while winning her heart?

**Soccer1012198: **tbd. Jonah really seems to like her, and… I kind of screwed it up for him. So now I'm just focused on fixing the mess and then I'll decide what to do about Claire.

**Sexysportsbabe: **aww, that's so sweet of you.

**Soccer1012198:** thanks, I guess

**Sexysportsbabe:** oh come on. Tons of girls love sweet. You're a really good friend to Jonah, too. Also an admirable quality.

**Soccer1012198:** don't make me blush. Ok, are we doing this

**Sexysportsbabe:** my vote is yes. I'll let her know.

**Soccer1012198:** awesome. You rock kris.

**Sexysportsbabe:** oh, I know.

**Soccer1012198: **K, I've got tons of homework. Seeyou tomorrow.

**Sexysportsbabe:** bye!

**Soccer1012198 has signed off. **

XX

Kristen POV

I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was about Massie that had been bugging me lately. Maybe it was her attitude towards Claire. Really, I had only ever been in her group because Josh and I were best friends when she decided Josh was of her status, and she grudgingly admitted that I was pretty and let me in too. I never really supported the whole "we are on top, and must do everything to stay here" ideology of hers. I just hung with them, well, because… well you know how high school is. I didn't really have other people to hang with at this point since the soccer team was completely scattered throughout different groups. But as Josh and I blended in fairly seamlessly with Massie's group as she rose to the top, he got into the whole popular game while I just hung on for the ride. Watching Massie wrap him around her pinkie finger helped me realize something about Josh that had been in front of my face for _years_. I was in love with Joshua Hotz. My best friend happened to be a guy since second grade, and it took seeing him start to drift away to realize my true feelings. I sat at my desk chair staring at my computer screen with the IM window still up and tried to figure out when the shift happened. I thought and thought, not being able to figure it out even as I drifted off to sleep later.

XX

Jonah POV

I appreciated Josh's eagerness to help out Claire, even if he was the one to screw everything up. At least he cared and wasn't being a dick and letting her life get screwed over. But talking about helping her wouldn't really do much, we had to actually form a plan. I'd thought about it the whole ride home. I really just wanted this to be over with, so Claire and I could go back to our relationship. I just wasn't sure how Josh would fit into all of that. I hoped he would be ok with it. I mean, there were plenty of sophomore girls who had been crushing on him since middle school, I didn't think he would have any problem landing a great girlfriend. _Then again, I guess one could say the same about me,_ I thought, and sighed. I guess we would have to let Claire decide, after we got her out of the mess, of course. Right. Back to what to do to help Claire. I was hoping that maybe, somehow, we could convince Alex and his friends that it had been some kind of joke. I mean, that wouldn't be too hard, would it? We could get Massie or Alicia or someone to get their fathers to buy everyone good seats to a game. And Alex is so forgetful sometimes, he wouldn't remember that Claire was upset about what he said, he'd probably just take the tickets and leave everyone alone. I just had to find out who else knew and see if they'd react the same way.

XX

Claire POV

I had to find a way to get myself out of this mess. I knew that Josh and Jonah were both trying to figure out some sort of plan or whatever, but I highly doubted it would work. I liked both of them, and I trusted both of them for the most part, but guys are just never good at stuff like this. And not only were they guys, but they were guys without experience with the whole people having ulterior motives for wanting to be with them. Sure, everyone liked them because they were popular, but all anyone could get out of being close with them was status. Psh. I thought that maybe Jonah could get some blackmail dirt on some of the guys. Or, maybe Todd could help me out. Depending on how many guys knew, maybe we could keep them happy with tickets to a couple of the best games. Really, this shouldn't have to be too big of a deal, now that I calmed down and thought about it. As long as the news didn't spread, we should be ok. All I could do was go to bed and hoped no one found out until I was able to rectify the situation in the morning.

_**Thanks for reading. I am currently setting the story up for a plot suggestion by ****cristi03. Thanks so much!!  
**_

_**~carefree**_


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